THIS, THAT AND THE THIRD

Mark Feinsand at mlb.com confirms the story that Gary Sheffield has offered to play third for the Bombers, and offers his suggestions about what the Yankees’ options are. Obviously, Sheffield wouldn’t help the Yankees defensively, but I’m sure management appreciates the offer all the same. It’s the kind of move that you would expect from a team-player like Derek Jeter (though it remains to be seen if Jeter would be any better at third than he is at short). Rich Lederer e-mailed me from the west coast this morning and added, “I was thinking how odd it was that Sheffield, a newcomer, had volunteered to plug the gap but that the team’s leader and captain hadn’t stepped forward with a similar offer.”

Meanwhile, John Heyman reports in Newsday that New York has signed Larry Bowa’s favorite son, Tyler Houston to a minor-league contract, so Sheff and Jeter may not have to worry about moving anywhere anytime soon.